Total Drama Battleground
by xxBansheeSerenadexx
Summary: In an AU where the Total Drama contestants possess superhuman abilities, Chris develops a new show in which sixteen teens must use these powers to battle to the death. Who will die? Who will survive? Read to find out! Starring Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Jasmine, Lindsay, Mike, Samey, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn, and Zoey!
1. Worse Things

**TOTAL DRAMA BATTLEGROUNDS**

 **-Worse Things-**

* * *

 _Hey!_

 _I'm BansheeSerenade, and this is the very first chapter of Total Drama Battlegrounds! Heavily inspired by Marvel's Avengers Arena, this is an alternate universe in which the contestants of Total Drama are just a handful of hundreds of super powered individuals sprouting up across the planet. Hoping to take advantage of this, Chris McLean gathers them to take part in his television comeback: a reality show in which these sixteen contestants will be battling to the death._

 _The first few chapters will bare similarities to Avengers Arena if you've read the series, but the characters and twists will differ greatly as the story continues. This is less a story about popcorn violence, and more of a character study of these sixteen contestants. The contestants in this story will include Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Jasmine, Lindsay, Mike, Samey, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn and Zoey._

 _Not all of them are mentioned in this chapter, but we'll get to meet everyone before the end of chapter two... hopefully, haha._

 _Pairings in this story will be those that are currently canon: so, AleHeather, Shasmine and Zoke._

 ** _Disclaimer: Total Drama and all of its characters belong to Fresh. This is pure fanfiction, and does not in any way represent or reflect the views of Fresh. Also, I'm not earning any money for this. Or am I? I'm not._**

* * *

 **Day 29 (Location Unknown)**

A girl stumbled through dense forest. Her red hair, drenched with sweat, clung to her face. Her brown eyes wide with terror as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Her body was covered from head to toe with a tight-fitting astronaut suit.

Until recently, she'd always considered herself an optimist.

A year ago she'd been in solitary confinement. A team of scientists worked around the clock trying to develop a cure, or at the very least a way to contain her condition. She wasn't just a threat to herself; her very existence endangered the lives of every single person on the planet. She possessed immense cosmic power – essentially a goddess among mere mortals. They feared her body would eventually break down, unable to contain the power building within. She was a walking time bomb with the potential to detonate at any random moment in time.

Exhausted, the girl limped onward. She clutched at her side where there was a large gash. Another gash had blood spilling down her leg, staining what had once been pristine white fabric. An ominous purple aura seemed to radiate from her wounds, surrounding her with a pulsing violet fog.

If it were anyone else, they'd have gone mad long before now.

Not her.

She'd remained as optimistic as always. For as long as she could remember, she'd been the first person to get up and dance at a party. She'd be the first one to compliment someone's new haircut, or the first person to laugh at some lame old joke. It was just in her nature.

Even as she came to a stop, leaning against a tree for support as blood ran down her side, she remained optimistic. At the forest's edge, she could see the sun as it rose over the ocean.

She made it through the night; she was going to survive.

Taking a shaky step out onto the cliff, she smiled.

Her infallible optimism was the only thing keeping her from breaking down. It wasn't that she _wanted_ to be happy; it was that she _needed_ to be happy. For, if she were to let go of that optimism, even for a moment, she was certain the pain and misery would kill her in seconds.

Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe…

"RAAAAAAAAAAAH"

No!

Whipping around, the redhead was confronted with the monster that had pursued her relentlessly through the woods. The horror induced by his sinister snarl was only enhanced when juxtaposed with the beauty of the sunrise behind them.

His claws shimmered in the growing light; his teeth bared as drool ran down his chin.

"Stop it!" The girl cried as he dove towards her, bringing her hands to her face and unleashing a burst of cosmic energy.

Her palms were consumed by a blistering heat as the throbbing purple fog oozed out of her pores and engulfed the monster. If it weren't for his agonised roars, she'd almost believe he were no longer there. That she was alone, that it was just her and the violet fog.

Seconds ticked by as though they were hours. She could feel her life slowly slipping away as blood continued to seep from her wounds. She'd used the last of her energy to fend of his attack.

This was it. This was the time for her to finally let go of that optimistic façade.

She was going to die here.

The fog gave way, and her attacker was still standing. His green skin was melting off his face, revealing the sinew and muscle underneath. Yet it didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Running his tongue along his razor sharp finger, he tasted his own blood and grinned. An almost chuckle seemed to escape through his needle-like teeth.

However, she was not afraid.

She was at peace. She accepted that there was no way she could possibly survive this encounter. She'd just hit him with everything she had, and he'd responded by laughing in her face.

He was going to gut her where she stood.

Diving forward, he drove his claws into her shoulders, knocking her to the ground. Laughing with glee, he lapped at the blood running from her newest wounds before driving his claws home once more.

Looking up at his twisted sneer, she gave up entirely. The pain wasn't so bad… She could even ignore his monstrous laughs if she tried hard enough. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and she could already see her angel.

"Mike," she smiled as the world began to fade to black.

* * *

 **Day 1 (The Academy)**

"It's okay Zoey, if you don't want me to stay the night, I can go."

"I do. Of course I want you to stay, Mike. I've just… We've never… What if someone walks in on us?"

"Zo, it's New Year's Eve. Everybody is out partying, we'll be fine..."

Scarlett Friday paused for a moment, listening to the muffled conversation going on in Zoey's room. It was strictly prohibited to have people in your dorm after lights out, and she had half a mind to go and report them. Fortunately for the rule breaking couple, she had somewhere more important to be and time was of the essence.

Making her way through the building, she paused once more outside the gymnasium where she heard another pair breaking curfew. With a shake of her head, she continued on her way to the garage where her project awaited.

Inside the gymnasium, a scrappy redneck was helping a classmate build up his fitness levels. The poor boy had been chewed out recently for falling behind, and out of the goodness of his heart he decided to help the kid out. Well, in exchange for the nerd doing his homework, of course.

"C'mon Cameron," the redneck groaned, "we've been here for twenty minutes and you've only managed eleven push ups!"

"I'd be able to finish a lot sooner if you let me use my powers," the scrawny African-Canadian nerd whined, collapsing in a heap. "And does Ezekiel need to be here? He seriously freaks me out!"

He cast his gaze over to a deformed boy who was perched in the bleachers like a dog. Formerly a home schooled kid from the prairie, exposure to illegally dumped toxic waste had mutated him into something almost beyond recognition. His thick hair had thinned to barely a couple of wisps, and his skin had turned a sickly green. A hump had formed on his back, forcing him to walk on all fours, and his teeth and nails had become razor sharp.

"No powers!" Scott barked for the millionth time, folding his arms. "And it's New Year's Eve; show some sympathy for the little freak. You gonna force him to sit in his cage alone all night?"

"I suppose not…" The nerd frowned, "I just don't like the way he looks at me. Like I'm lunch, or something."

"As if," the redhead laughed in return. "You're so scrawny; you'd barely be a snack."

"Gee, thanks," Cameron deadpanned, preparing to attempt another push up.

"We could always go stick him with Mike and Zoey," Scott snickered, looking over at the freak as his tongue hung out and he stamped his foot with joy.

Back in the dorms, Zoey was snuggling up to her boyfriend's warm chest. She wasn't wearing her containment suit, enjoying the benefit of Mike's ability to cancel the powers of others. Essentially, in his presence, she was just a normal girl without the constant fear of destroying everyone around her with her immense power.

"This is nice," she smiled, draping an arm over his belly. Leaning up to kiss him gently, she whispered, "Thank you for tonight."

"Any time," the tanned boy replied, flashing a gap-toothed grin. "Seriously, any time you need me I'll be here for you."

"I love you," she kissed him again.

"I love you too," he blushed, returning the kiss with passion.

As they kissed, their bodies began to radiate with a white light. Noticing, they broke apart, looks of panic on their faces.

"Is-is this you?" Mike asked, his voice trembling.

"No," Zoey cried, "I… I don't know what this-"

And then they were gone, leaving the dorm empty as though they were never there.

It was same throughout the entire school. The gymnasium was now empty; as was the garage. An eerie silence filled The Academy as it was completely void of life.

* * *

 **Day 1 (The Arena)**

Sixteen teenagers hung limply in the sky. The air around them was thick with smoke as a fire roared beneath their feet.

Elsewhere, a devilishly handsome man sat in an office. He was once Canada's sweetheart; host of a string of successful reality shows. Chris McLean, the sadistic egomaniac who was cast from show business without a second thought. Eventually forgotten by the public, he became a shell of his former self.

That was about to change.

Before him was a screen. It showed the map of an island named Pahkitew, with the faces of sixteen teenagers around the screen's edges. The map was broken up into four quadrants, each coded with a specific colour.

"Here's your espresso, sir," a burly African-Canadian chef announced, carelessly thrusting the drink in his boss' face.

"Thank you, Chef Hatchet!" Chris beamed, practically bouncing with glee. "How's about we wake the little freaks up?"

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Chef Hatchet made his way over to a control panel and flicked a dial to "on."

"Wake up kiddies," Chris sang into a microphone as the sixteen limp forms began to regain consciousness. "I wouldn't bother trying to move if I were you. Talking probably wouldn't be the best idea either," he chuckled. "You've been sleeping while I got you all buffed and polished for your TV debut. Hey, we can't have a bunch of dirty snot-nosed kids running around. People only like watching _attractive_ people these days!"

"You probably won't believe this," he sighed, "but I almost envy you brats. Dangling up there all terrified and stuff, feet inches away from the raging fire below. I think you guys would be crying, maybe even screaming, if I hadn't drugged you out of your brains. It's for the best that you can't though. You need to make a good first impression for the audiences at home! Gotta be all stoic and stuff, otherwise they won't want you to win."

"Oh, how rude of me! Where are my manners?" He laughed with embarrassment, "I'm your host, Chris McLean. And this… is Total Drama Battleground! Here's the deal; I like to be on TV. I love it! I also like to watch people suffer. It reminds me of how great my life is. Some people call me sick and twisted, but those people clearly mustn't be millionaires."

"For my inspired comeback, we're gonna try something a little different," he explained. "You see, reality television has become pretty stale in recent years. We need a hook; otherwise people are just going to flick the channel over to something stupid, like the news."

"Right now there are sixteen of you. You're completely cut off from civilisation; no hope of rescue. And trust me, even if someone wanted to rescue you, they wouldn't even know where to begin looking," he cackled. "You want food? Water? Medicine? You want anything and you're going to have to earn it. Ain't no freeloaders on this show! One way or another, in thirty days' time only one of you will be leaving this place alive."

"I got the idea from some movies I watched recently," he admitted, "so I can't take all the credit. However, I've added a little twist to the formula… teenagers with _super powers_! Oh, for the viewing audience at home, the government has failed to inform you that the next stage of human evolution is among us. Yeah, people with powers are turning up all across the globe. It's pretty cool! You'll see sixteen of them in action right here on this very TV show!"

With a snap of his fingers, Chris signaled Chef to hit another switch. This one dropped the teens to the burning ground below. Just as they began to feel the searing heat of the flames, they vanished completely. In their wake was a beautiful green meadow filled with flowers; the smoke cleared to reveal a bright blue sky filled with fluffy clouds.

It looked like paradise.

Standing in the centre of the circle of groggy teens was Chris McLean himself. He wore a cocky grin on his face as he watched them slowly come to their senses.

"I'm gonna kill that sick bastard," an Aboriginal amazon growled, brandishing a rather horrific hunting knife.

"I'd love to see that, actually," a dishevelled brunette boy grinned, straightening his dirty green beanie.

"Ladies first," a Latin Adonis smiled, bowing slightly as he winked at a nearby Hispanic girl.

"He's all yours," the Hispanic girl smirked to the Asian girl to her left.

"Gladly," came her response.

"Oh, c'mon guys; don't be so stupid," the host sighed, rolling his eyes as sixteen super powered teens rushed towards him.

"I mean, I understand," he beamed charismatically as he teleported behind them. "It's probably been drilled into your heads at that stupid academy for months now, yeah? Beat up the bad guy! Let me tell you, the real world works differently than that."

With that, a blast of energy shot from the nearby forest and knocked Cameron back several feet.

Using the distraction to her advantage, Zoey released a powerful cosmic blast from her palms. The host disappeared in a pulsing violet fog, with not so much as a murmur.

"Think about this for a second," Chris sighed as he stepped out of the fog. "Do you really think I'd be so stupid as to leave myself at your mercy? I'm protected by magic so advanced that you couldn't even begin to understand it."

Stepping towards Zoey, he placed his hand against the front of her containment suit. Leaning in with a look of sinister glee, he hissed "My turn" and released a blast of energy from his palm that sent her flying into the forest.

"ZOEY!" Mike cried, watching in horror as his girlfriend hit a tree with a sickening thud.

"Dang, this dude is way tougher than he looks," a blonde surfer-type guy confessed. He wore a pair of gauntlets on his hands that released a surge of crackling electricity towards the host.

At the same time, a punk with a face full of piercings and a green mohawk released a torrent of flames from his right fist.

With a roll of his eyes, the host encased himself with a force field to shield himself from their attacks. Once their assaults ceased, he knocked them back several feet with an energy blast.

"You guys don't learn very quickly, do you?" Chris snickered. "You can't hurt me. So why even bother trying?"

In an effort to further display his power, he turned to a nearby mechanised battle-suit. A towering, hulking menace of steel and wires. One arm possessed a Gatling gun, prepared to release an assault of bullets at the host. With a mere gesture, he peeled the suit open like a tin can and pulled out the pilot.

The redneck, Scott, hung helplessly in the air at the host's mercy.

"I am not the villain for you to triumphantly defeat," Chris reiterated. "On this island, I am god. What I say goes, and I say you stop these childish attacks at once! Seriously, I'm embarrassed for you."

With that, he allowed Scott to drop to the ground.

"Now that we've got that out of our systems," Chris continued, dusting himself off, "let's talk housekeeping. I suppose some of you must be wondering why, out of all of the super-teens in the world, were you selected for this show? To be honest, I can't answer that. It's just bad luck, really. There was no rhyme, no reason. You were just the sixteen people easiest for me to grab in the middle of the night without anyone noticing. But that's not what's important. What matters is that you're here, and you're going to be part of my game."

"Quit talking about your stupid game, man!" The surfer dude barked, powering his gauntlets up once more. "I'm not playing-"

"Sorry to break it to you, kid," the host interrupted, "but life is one big game. If you don't play the game, you lose. And if you lose, you die."

"I'm not really following your logic here," the Aboriginal amazon interjected. "You've proven that you're some big strong man, knocking us around and playing god… But that ain't gonna make none of us start butchering each other."

"You sure about that?" Chris beamed in return. "Look around you, and you'll quickly realise that you barely even know most of these people. How many of them would you trust with your life? I can't force you to kill anyone. It wouldn't be much fun if I was controlling you. The entertainment comes from watching you make these decisions for yourselves! This is a game, a game that will reveal the true nature of each and every one of you. No rules, none of society's expectations to hold you back."

"What, so you think deep down everyone is a psycho killer?" The dirty brunette with the beanie scoffed, crossing his arms. "Did the government put you up to this? Is this some kind of a test?"

"Nope!" The host chuckled, "In fact, this isn't even being picked up by a broadcaster! Nobody knows about this, and that's the brilliance of it. We're going hack the airwaves and put this on every single station 24/7! People will have no choice but to watch this blood fest!"

"But back to your first question," his eyes gleamed, "not all of you are psycho killers. Some of you are cowards. Some of you are liars. Heck, some of you might _actually_ be heroes. But yes, I do believe that at least one of you is a natural born killer."

"Are you okay?" Mike asked as he finally managed to limp his way over to the battered Zoey.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled weakly, accepting his hand as he helped her to her feet.

"Good," he grinned back, "let's keep you that way."

"Okay, this is getting really boring," Chris sighed, folding his arms. "Enough talking, let's get to the killing! Ladies and gentleman, the game officially begins… now! There are sixteen of you before me. Which of you is the weakest? Who will be the first to die? Hey, because I'm so nice, I'll make this easy on you and _I'll_ kill the first person. How does that sound?"

His proposal was met with a disgusted silence.

"I'm not messing around here, guys!" The host exclaimed, "I'm really going to kill one of you! Either point a finger at the weakest among you, or I'm going to select someone at random.

"You don't think he'll really do it, do you?" Zoey asked her boyfriend as they limped back over to the group. "He won't really kill anyone… he's not going to force us to decide which person dies without a fighting chance. I won't! We've gotta regroup and formulate a plan to…"

"No, we don't," Mike replied softly as he stopped walking.

"What do you mean?" Zoey shot back, "Of course we do!"

"What we need to do, Zo," Mike looked her solemnly in the eye, "is take this guy very seriously."

"What? But he's going to-"

"He almost just killed you," the tanned boy murmured. "I know you're tough, but he's stronger. You hit him with all you had, and he didn't even flinch. This guy is dangerous."

"So what?" The redhead frowned, "We play along? He's going to kill our friends!"

"I… I don't care."

Whipping around, the slim girl looked at him in disbelief. Her brown eyes were distant, almost cold.

"You don't care?" She spat, "How could you be so selfish? Of course you care, don't be stupid."

"Look, as long as it isn't you he kills…" He couldn't meet her eyes, "I don't care."

"Tick tock, kiddies," Chris began growing impatient. "I don't have all day! I've got a show to run here! Pick the weakest link, I'll give you until the count of ten."

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

"Seriously, who is it going to be!?" He demanded, his eyes glowing with raw power.

"I'd apologise, but I am _so_ not sorry!"

Turning around, Chris was confronted with Zoey as she released another powerful wave of cosmic energy. Raw purple energy radiated from her entire body, leaving the grass beneath her feet dead and wilted. She didn't ease up, pushing with all of the power she possessed as the host was consumed by the pulsing violet fog.

"Ouch, Zoey," Chris chuckled, stepping from the fog and placing a hand around her throat. "Well, looks like we've got our volunteer at the very least. I'm not sure if I'd call her the weakest, but she definitely doesn't seem to really grasp the rules of the game."

Tears streaming down her face, the redhead refused to beg for mercy. She'd rather die than play a role in the man's sadistic game.

"Stop!" Mike cried, running between them and desperately trying to pry Chris' hand from his girlfriend's throat. "Don't, please don't hurt her! Take me; I'm the weakest link. Not her, not Zoey… she's strong, you've seen her power. I'm not like her… I mute powers. That's not good television, is it?"

"Mike, no…" Zoey sobbed before Chris released her, sending her flying back several feet.

"Whatever you say, kid," Chris grinned. With a mere hand gesture, Mike exploded from within. Blood and innards splashed over the meadow and bones splintered like rotted wood. With barely any warning, Mike Doran was nothing but a puddle of guts.

"I'm Chris McLean," the host beamed at the camera, "and this has been Day 1 of Total Drama Battleground! Enjoy your stay."

* * *

 ** _Contestants (Bold = Deceased)_**

 _Alejandro_

 _Cameron_

 _Courtney_

 _Duncan (pyrokinesis)_

 _Ezekiel (heightened senses; razor sharp teeth and claws)_

 _Geoff (gauntlets produce electrical surges)  
_

 _Gwen_

 _Heather_

 _Jasmine_

 _Lindsay_

 ** _Mike (cancels the powers of others)_**

 _Samey_

 _Scarlett_

 _Scott (pilots a mecha-suit)_

 _Shawn_

 _Zoey (produces cosmic energy)_

* * *

 _So, what did you think? Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, or even just a review telling me what you liked._

 _Who do you think will die next? Who would you like to win? If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me._

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _-BansheeSerenade_

* * *

 **Next: Deadly Allies  
**


	2. Deadly Allies

**TOTAL DRAMA BATTLEGROUND**

 **-Deadly Allies-**

* * *

 _Hey again!_

 _Here's the second chapter of Total Drama Battleground. Last chapter we saw the beginning of the game and witnessed our first death as Mike sacrificed himself for the love of his life. We won't really get to see the fallout of that just yet, as we shift gears this chapter and look at Scarlett as she struggles to find her place in the game. We'll get back to Zoey eventually though, I promise!_

 _As a refresher, the contestants left in the game now are Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Jasmine, Lindsay, Samey, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn and Zoey. Who will be the next to fall? Continue reading to find out!_

 _I know I promised that we'd meet the entire cast this chapter, but there are still a few more left to introduce in chapter three. Sorry :/ haha._

 _Pairings in this story will be those that are currently canon: so, AleHeather, Shasmine, and Zoke._

 _ **Disclaimer: Total Drama belongs to Fresh. This is pure fanfiction, and does not in any way represent or reflect the views of Fresh. Also, I'm not earning any money for this. Or am I? I'm not.**_

* * *

 **Day 1 (Meadow)**

Scarlett Friday's father had always told her that life is only complicated until yours was on the line. Of course, he'd been a raging alcoholic so she always took what he said with a grain of salt. Even from a young age, her intellect was vastly superior to his; she barely even bothered to pay attention when he spoke most days. However, this is something that had always stuck with her. And today, she finally realised how right he'd been.

Her yellow sweater was now splattered with red. Gazing down, she saw her hands trembling. Slowly, she made her way from the gathered teens and wretched onto the grass.

Wiping away leftover sick with her sleeve, the red haired brainiac noticed a nearby girl experiencing a meltdown. It was the kind of girl she'd never have associated with in the real world. Blonde, tan, big breasted… essentially the anti-Scarlett. But considering what had occurred in the past ten minutes, she decided to make an exception.

"Excuse me," Scarlett said as she awkwardly stood beside the cowering blonde, unsure of how to comfort her, "I couldn't help but notice that you were showing early warnings of severe depression, stress and anxiety; commonly referred to as a nervous breakdown. I thought perhaps I could offer you some comfort, considering we'll most likely be spending the remainder of our short lives together."

The blonde looked up at her with big, blue eyes. Mascara ran down her cheeks, but she stopped her quiet sobs long enough to shoot the genius a confused glance.

Despite her tears, the girl looked beautiful. She was almost like an angel, with beautiful white feathered wings protruding from her back. Her fingernails, painted bright pink, were more like the talons of a bird of prey.

Scarlett could see the girl trying to process everything that was going on. It was a known fact that once a person is backed into a corner, or more accurately faced with danger, that they'll have one or two responses: fight or flight. The question was, which one would this girl choose?

"I… I, I don't understand," she whimpered, allowing Scarlett to help her to her feet. "This is so cruel, why would anybody ever do something like this?"

For the first time in her life, Scarlett didn't have the answer. So, instead, she settled for a change of topic.

"My name is Scarlett," she introduced, "under other circumstances I'm sure it would be a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Lindsay," the blonde smiled, wiping away her tears.

"Your wings are truly magnificent," the brainiac observed. "I'm assuming your bone structure must be quite different to the average human, otherwise they'd never be able to support you in flight."

"They're pretty, right?" Lindsay half-sobbed, half-giggled, as she ran a taloned hand through her soft white plumage. "I wish they were pink though, that'd be super cute."

"Oh, um, quite," Scarlett stammered.

"Hey, do you think maybe I could fly and get us some help?" The blonde asked excitedly, beginning to think more clearly now that she'd calmed down somewhat.

"Considering your power set, I'm going to hazard a guess and surmise Chris has probably thought of that and put in the proper precautions to prevent it," Scarlett replied matter of factly, pushing her glasses up the brim of her nose.

"Oh, I'm pretty fast!" Lindsay gushed, "I bet he totally wouldn't even be able to catch me if he tried. Look, I'll be back before you even know it, don't worry Charlotte!"

"I truly believe that this is not a wise decision, I must advise you reconsider" Scarlett warned as the blonde girl prepared to take off. However, her warning fell on deaf ears as the girl shot up into the sky. If nothing else, Lindsay had been correct; she _was_ very fast.

In the end though, it doesn't really matter whether an individual chooses fight or flight. What really matters is how it turns out, and how they suffer with those consequences. It's fascinating, really, how the rest of someone's life can be so clearly defined by one split moment decision.

Lindsay rapidly shot higher and higher, reaching far above the forest's canopy before she hit the sky with a sickening crunch. The beautiful blue sky wavered, fading away for a split second to reveal the cold silver of steel, as the blonde angel crumpled back to the ground.

"Oopsies!" Came the cackle of Chris McLean over the loudspeaker as Lindsay's lifeless body hit the ground, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle, "Did I forget to mention the ceiling? Yeah, that's my bad guys. Sorry!"

Another thing Scarlett's dad liked to say was that people worry too much about making friends. What they really need to worry about is making allies. Friends make you weak, he'd say. Allies make you stronger.

One thing he'd always neglected to mention, however… what does being alone make you?

* * *

 **Day 1 (Meadow)**

"E-excuse me?" Scarlett awkwardly stuttered as she made her way over to her classmates from the Academy. Playing with the hem of her sweater, she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact.

She'd always believed herself to be superior to these people. Always kept her distance; never had a nice thing to say about any of them in her life.

And now Mike was dead. He was dead, and she'd never said a nice thing to him in his life. She'd never be able to point out the fifty three things she admired about him; he died knowing only the twenty seven things she considered to be his shortcomings.

And then Lindsay had died. She had died because Scarlett was ineffectual in stopping her from making a life-ending decision.

In the past twenty minutes, Scarlett had come to accept that she had poor communication skills. What an odd thing to realise when faced with death.

"I'd just like to offer my condolences," the brainiac muttered, still unable to make eye contact. "Mike was a good person, and it is disappointing that his life was terminated so soon."

A few feet away, an adorable blonde with big green eyes was watching the exchange with a burning curiosity. She wore a red cheerleading uniform with white knee-high boots that were now stained with blood.

"Samey, mi amor," a Latin Adonis cooed as his hand came to rest on her shoulder, "we're leaving now."

"Just a second," she frowned, glancing back at him over her shoulder, "I want to see this."

"If there's anything I could do to help, I'd-" Scarlett was cut off when a hard punch sent her sprawling on the ground.

"It's 'disappointing' that the wimp died!?" Her classmate Scott spat, tears burning his eyes as he glared down at her, "You're offering your 'condolences'? What the heck, four eyes?"

"Scott, don't," Zoey sniffled, kneeling on the ground with her hands in the puddle of Mike's remains.

"You don't get to offer no condolences, freak!" Scott roared, "You think you're so much better than us 'coz you're all smart and stuff? You're probably thinking of a way to kill every single one of us so you can win this stupid game, huh!? Well bring it on, nerd!"

"That's not at all what I was inferring," Scarlett frowned, rubbing her rapidly bruising cheek as she returned to her feet. "I was merely-"

"'Merely'!?" Scott scowled, "There you go again, using big words like you're so much better than me!"

As he went to punch the brainiac again, she raised her arms in self-defence. The skin on her left palm opened up to reveal a circle that glowed with ominous red energy. Her left eye flashed a similar shade of red as a concussive wave of energy shot from her palm, slamming Scott into the ground several feet back.

"Good for her," Samey smiled sweetly, watching the fight play out.

"Oh dear," Scarlett gasped, dashing over to check on the redneck. "I'm terribly sorry; there must be something wrong with my circuitry. That was an involuntary-"

He silenced her with another punch, this one breaking her nose.

"Now you're really dead, freak!" He growled, punching her in the stomach and instantly howling in pain. "That bitch just broke my fist!"

"I'm sorry!" She cried, spinning on her heel and darting into the forest as thirteen sets of eyes watched her go.

* * *

 **Four years ago (Scarlett's basement)**

It was 5:25am.

Scarlett's dad thought she was trying to embarrass him by fixing a car he'd been unable to repair for the past six months now. The truth was that she couldn't care less what he thought. She wasn't trying to show him up; she simply wanted to understand how the car worked.

She didn't have any particular interest in mechanics. Her father believed cars were one of the most fascinating things on the planet. Scarlett found splitting atoms to be fascinating. She found advancements in cloning technology to be fascinating. At this point, mechanics were just rudimentary.

She tried explaining this to her father, but he'd just gone red in the face and yelled at her. He often did that though, so she didn't think much of it at the time.

Scarlett didn't believe herself to be arrogant, as her father often said she was. It wasn't arrogance to say that you were one of the brightest people in your generation when that was the truth. It was just stating fact. And Scarlett was the kind of person who loved stating facts.

She heard a lot of yelling coming from inside. That wasn't out of the ordinary though; she'd long learned to ignore disturbances like that. However, when she heard her mother screaming it seemed about time to investigate.

Inside, she found a raging fire. Her father was passed out on the lounge room floor while her mother was trapped in the kitchen by a wall of flame.

That was the day her life changed forever.

Before she'd even managed to reach the front door the fire had hit the gas line, creating an explosion that left her family dead. Scarlett was fortunate to survive, but only barely.

She spent the next few years bitter and alone, cut off from the rest of the world as she learned to survive with an amputated arm and half her face being melted off. Eventually, she developed a robotic artificial limb, and from there she continued to upgrade her body with enhancements to be the best she could be.

Her mind had always been brilliant, but if she was going to survive in the world she quickly learned that she'd need a body to match.

* * *

 **Day 1 (Tundra)**

"Stop right there!" A voice barked, causing Scarlett to stop dead in her tracks.

Dropping from a branch above, a Hispanic girl with an athletic build dropped to a crouch before her.

"Take another step and you die," the girl spat, "so I'd suggest you do as I say."

Frozen in place, Scarlett quickly scanned the area for any potential escape routes. She'd try to avoid a fight if she could, but she was fairly confident she'd be able to defeat the girl if it came to it.

"Good, you know how to listen," the girl smirked. "First thing's first, you might want to look down at the ground. Unless you actually _want_ to go around stomping on land mines, I'd be more careful about where I'm walking in the future."

Scarlett cursed herself for being so foolish. Of course the island would be rigged with lethal traps like this. If the host couldn't force the teens to kill each other, he'd need other ways to rack up a body count.

"Thank you," Scarlett murmured, gingerly stepping around the mine. "I'd almost began to believe everyone here had succumbed to the pressure and would play this monstrous game. I must thank you for saving my life and proving otherwise. My name is Scarlett, and under any other circumstances, I'm sure it would be a pleasure to-"

"Correction," her saviour interrupted, "you may _call_ yourself Scarlett, but that's not who you really are, and you know it. I saw you in the meadow. You're some freaky cyborg who shoots lasers out of your hands and talks stupid bimbos into killing themselves."

"That… that's not at all…" Scarlett trailed off, frowning in surrender. The girl wasn't incorrect; she _was_ a cyborg, and Lindsay _had_ died as a result of her ineffective communication skills.

"I suggest you walk away now," the girl spat. Her eyes cold and completely void of compassion.

* * *

 **Night 1 (Forest)**

"Hey amigos, look what I found wandering around our camp!" A spanish hunk declared as he dragged Scarlett out of the trees and into the clearing where his friends had established base for the night.

"It's that robot girl, the one who beat up her redneck classmate!" He laughed, roughly shoving her to the ground, "Come to kill us all in our sleep! No need to thank me, you just owe me your lives."

"I wasn't trying to bring anybody harm," the brainiac frowned, dusting off her palms as she rose back to her feet. "I was wandering the tundra, but found it too cold. I'd have died from hypothermia before the night was through. I was hoping to warm up by your fire without drawing attention to myself, but it appears you must possess heightened senses."

"You like our fire?" An Asian girl with long raven hair sneered, grabbing Scarlett by the back of her head and bringing it closer to the flames, "Why don't you take a closer look?"

"Alejandro and Heather are looking like strong contenders for Chris McLean's murder crown," a dirty-looking teen with greasy brown hair beneath a green beanie muttered from across the clearing.

"Let it go, Shawn," his Amazonian companion warned, rubbing her hands together for warmth.

"No, seriously," Shawn continued, louder this time, "look at them! They've already scored their first kill, and it's not even day two yet. It's okay though, they're totally doing it in self-defence. Look at how threatening that girl looks as they shove her face in the fire. Good thing they were here to save us!"

"You guys are right," Heather sneered, "we should definitely allow a potential threat to lurk around our camp. She's just a cyborg; _they've_ never proven to be dangerous or anything."

"I didn't say anything," the Aboriginal girl frowned, folding her arms.

"We let her go, and she'll come back later while we're all asleep," Heather continued. "It's kill or be killed, and I'm not going to die because you guys underestimated the competition."

"Please, I promise…"

"You promise what, nerd?" Alejandro spat, "Your promises don't mean shit, chica. We don't know you, so we don't trust you."

"Leave her alone," the blonde cheerleader, Samey, interjected. "Alejandro, you talk big but we all know you don't have the guts to kill anyone. You'd spend the next four weeks crying yourself to sleep."

Walking over to the brainiac, Samey offered her hand.

"Are you hungry?" She smiled, "We've got some rabbit to cook, if you'd like to join us for dinner. I promise you that nobody here is going to hurt you; not while I'm around."

"Thank you," Scarlett smiled in return, accepting her hand and joining her as she prepared the rabbits.

"You're more than welcome," the cheerleader replied, "but honestly, nobody here could actually bring themselves to kill you. Well, maybe Heather. I'm Sammy, by the way; though most people just call me Samey."

"Scarlett," the brainiac introduced. "Why Samey?"

"It was just an old nickname someone gave me," the blonde explained. "They aren't around anymore, but the name kind of just stuck. The hot Latino who dragged you out of the woods is Alejandro. He's literally perfect; it's kind of his thing. He's pretty arrogant, but considering he's perfect in every single way… I think a bit of an ego can be forgiven."

"That angry girl is his girlfriend, Heather," she continued. "She's half-Atlantean. Oh, Atlantis is a real place and people still live there; it's a whole thing. Anyways, she's got some serious abandonment issues, so I can understand why she's so aggressive all the time. She grows on you after a while though, trust me."

"The dirty guy is Shawn, he's big into conspiracy theories," she said, pointing over at the couple seated far away from the main group. "His family consider themselves to be monster hunters. I've never seen a monster myself, so I just take his word for it. He's kind of a pessimist, so I wouldn't pay him too much attention."

"His friend is Jasmine," she smiled. "She's lovely. Really tough though; I really admire that about her. She grew up in Australia, until her parents died and she was adopted by Amazons. You should see her in action, it's incredible."

"I'm a technopath," Samey concluded, "but not a very powerful one. I'm lucky if I can turn on a laptop that's across the room. My sister was really strong, so I'm hoping one day I'll be as good as she was."

"Was?"

"I don't really like talking about it…" Samey frowned before perking back up, "Hey, why don't you go tell the others dinner is ready? Maybe providing food will help you earn some brownie points."

"Okay," Scarlett smiled in return, grateful that there was at least one other person in the game who hadn't completely lost their mind.

* * *

 _ **Contestants (Bold = Deceased)**_

 _Alejandro (heightened senses; enhanced strength, speed and durability; limited telepathy; flight)_

 _Cameron_

 _Courtney_

 _Duncan (Pyrokinesis)_

 _Ezekiel (heightened senses; razor sharp teeth and claws)_

 _Geoff (gauntlets produce electrical surges)_

 _Gwen_

 _Heather (heightened senses; super strength; enhanced speed and durability; breathe underwater)_

 _Jasmine (super strength; enhanced durability)_

 _ **Lindsay (feathered wings)**_

 _ **Mike (cancels the powers of others)**_

 _Samey (limited technopathy)_

 _Scarlett (cyborg)_

 _Scott (pilots a mecha-suit)_

 _Shawn_

 _Zoey (produces cosmic energy)_

* * *

 _What are your thoughts? Please feel free to leave a review offering constructive criticism, praise, or even just flaming me for killing your favourites. You know your successful once the hate begins rolling in ;)_

 _Who do you think will die next? Who would you like to win? If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading!_

 _-BansheeSerenade_


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